The Urban League of Hudson County and Hoboken family planning are offering free breast exams and on-site mammograms for uninsured and under-insured women. The exams will be conducted at 253 MLK Drive, Jersey City, on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is required, so call (201) 963-0300. There are age and financial restrictions.

Billy Bisogno withdraws from council race

Six weeks before the Nov. 7 municipal election, and probably too late to take his name off the ballot, Michael “Billy” Bisogno has dropped out of the race to become Jersey City’s Downtown council member, hoping to succeed Candice Osborne.

The 35-year-old actor and LGBT activist was one of six candidates in the Ward E council race and could have become the first openly gay person elected to the nine-member City Council.

According to local media reports, Bisogno said his new role as executive director of Hudson Pride Connections Center made dropping out of the race necessary. Bisogno said, “I would rather do one job well than do two adequately.”

Bisogno has thrown his support behind Nick Grillo, a funeral director and the only Jersey City native running for the Downtown council seat. The other candidates are attorneys Rebecca Symes, Madeleine Giansanti Cag, and Jake Hudnut, and James Solomon, who teaches politics and public policy at New Jersey City University and Hudson County Community College.

County election officials began sending mail-in ballots to voters on Friday and have said it’s unlikely the county will pay to redesign the ballot to remove someone’s name.

Mayor Steven Fulop has said he will not endorse a Ward E candidate unless there’s a runoff after the first round of balloting.

Stabbing leaves one dead, another injured

Police are investigating the stabbing death of one person and injuries to another near the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive on Wednesday, according to media reports. The injured victim remained in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon at Jersey City Medical Center. Both victims are males, said to be in their late teens or early 20s.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said the department's Homicide Unit is investigating the fatal stabbing.

Kushner’s revised One Journal Square unanimously approved

The city Planning Board on Tuesday unanimously approved revised plans for the Kushner Company’s $800 million, twin tower project proposed for a plot of land adjacent to the Journal Square PATH station. According to local media reports, the board members expressed eagerness to see the project go forward after years of delays and unfulfilled promises by the city to redevelop the tract.

Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner was the CEO of Kushner Properties, who left that position after Trump’s inauguration in January. Last spring the project was the center of controversy when Kusher’s sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, reportedly attempted to lure foreign investors to the project with promises of assistance in getting them American visas. That followed other obstacles to the project’s progress, including a major investor dropping out, the expiration of a critical state tax break, and the Fulop administration’s decision not to support an array of city subsidies the developers wanted.

Revisions to the project, which will stand 758 feet when completed, include two 56-story towers on top of a 10-story podium housing 1,512 residential units plus retail office space.

Stack urges contributions to hurricane victims

State Sen. Brian Stack has issued a call for donations to the Red Cross to aid victims of the devastating hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Stack, who is also mayor of Union City, called the Red Cross a “reputable organization” and said he has witnessed their “honorable” work at the local level. He said, “Our region has many residents with both friends and family in these nations.” To donate to the Red Cross, check www.Redcross.org or call (1-800-733-2767).

Hudson County CASA is seeking volunteers

Learn how to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer and help foster children find safe and permanent homes. The next information session will be held at the Hudson County Courthouse, 595 Newark Ave. Rm. 901 on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m.

Hudson County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a non-profit organization committed to advocating for the best interests of abused and neglected children. CASA works through trained community volunteers to ensure that needed services and assistance are made available to children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes. Hudson County CASA volunteers are everyday people who make a direct impact in foster children’s lives. They are trusted, dedicated adults who seek to improve children’s well-being. CASA volunteers get to know their assigned child and his or her circumstances and provide valuable information to the court. Judges rely on the volunteers’ recommendations to make the best decisions about the children’s futures.

In a statement from AARP New Jersey State President Dave Mollen, the American Association of Retired Persons applauded Gov. Christopher Christie for enacting into law S291/A1464, bi-partisan legislation authorizing health care providers in New Jersey to deliver health care services through the use of telehealth and telemedicine.

Mollen said the new law “moves the state in the right direction and allows telehealth and telemedicine to become an accessible, affordable option for millions of New Jersey residents.” His statement also commended Assemblyman Raj Mukherji and his fellow bill sponsors for championing the legislation.

Do you have a story you want to get onto paper, or get published? Local novelist offers one-shot class

Do you have a piece of writing, or an idea for a piece of writing (memoir, novel, essay, script), and you need feedback on it or ideas on how to get it published? Now you can learn how, right in your own back yard. Local novelist (and Reporter editor) Caren Lissner, whose book was made into the Netflix movie Carrie Pilby, is running a one-shot writing and publishing class at Little City Books in Hoboken. The 90-minute workshop will run on the evening of Nov. 2, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It will include suggestions on how to take the next steps into writing or getting published. The class is open to all stages, ages, and genres – from memoirs to fiction to scripts. The store is five blocks from the Hoboken train station.

Participants who’ve written their story, essay, poem, novel excerpt, or screenplay can bring 1 to 5 double-spaced pages, or those who just want to participate in discussion (auditors) can come and sit in. But space is limited, so register using the link below or check the events page of littlecitybooks.com. There is a nominal cost of $25 for those bringing work for critique, and $20 for auditors who just want to observe or discuss.

Lissner’s funny first novel, “Carrie Pilby,” was just turned into a comedy movie starring Nathan Lane, currently on Netflix. She has also published articles, essays, and satire in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, and National Lampoon.

Lissner has run publishing/writing seminars for adults and teens at the Secaucus Library, in other libraries and bookstores, and as part of a Scholastic Inc. program in Westchester County. Find out more at carenlissner.com.

The two leading gubernatorial candidates have come together to voice support of a statewide charity designed to raise funds for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.

“New Jersey for Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief” is sponsored and spearheaded by the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey and leaders of New Jersey’s half-million-strong Puerto Rican community to rally behind friends and family on the island suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and former Ambassador Phil Murphy both urged New Jerseyans to support the relief fund. Visit nj4pr.org. Donations are now being accepted through the site. Supporters can also call 1-833-NJ-HELPS.